


Din

by baeberiibungh



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Avoidance issues, Hearing Impaired, Lip reading, M/M, Speech Discrimination, Too much staring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-12
Updated: 2015-04-21
Packaged: 2018-03-22 12:49:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3729559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeberiibungh/pseuds/baeberiibungh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean checks out the hot guy always listening to music. Cas catches him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Dean peeked at him over his book as slyly as he could. It was the same guy. Black hair with blue etched in his hair. A ring in his lip, and a pin in his eyebrow. Cool and calm tees that looked comfortable as fuck. And black headphones sneaking out of his ears. Sometimes he used to sway and bang his head a bit, probably in tune with whatever he was listening to, a relaxed look on his face no matter what he was doing, because he was always doing something – reading or writing or typing – with his headphones in. 

At first Dean thought he was a snob – he rarely talked to anyone and asking around produced no great results except that his name was something Winchester. However his stalking and yes it was stalking, who was he kidding now, told him a different story. He was very formal whenever he talked, rarely using any swear words in spite of the way he looked, and whoa, Dean was making assumptions, and generally nice to everyone, without making any demands or holding expectations that others be the same.

The man just intrigued Dean too much. He finally gave up and asked his friend Charlie to do some research on the guy. Charlie came back with a long list of good points and related info, a smirk and a demand that he ask him out or she will. Dean punched Charlie playfully and told her to keep away from his man. This earned him a full throated laugh and the promise that she will crush his noggin if he didn’t ask him out. Saying yeah yeah he sent her away before perusing the list Charlie had compiled. 

His name was Castiel Winchester. Weird name, thought Dean. He was the youngest of four brothers. He was majoring in English literature and minoring in history and lived in the dorms. He had very few friends, loved cats and was picking up stray ones to feed a few biscuits every now and then, most probably bi, having limited sexual activities by his own choice and had only two friends, Lucifer Novak, one of the baddest bastard in the campus, and Meg Rowland, Lucifer’s girlfriend and grand dame of the Theta Theta Phi house and matching scariness.

There was some more information that Charlie had dug up but Dean felt no need to read them. Even after knowing this much, he was still hungry, no other word for it. He wanted to know everything. And maybe he should say Hi to him first before he does some more stalking yes. So the next day when he went to the library and spotted Cas on his favourite table, he went up to him, put his bag on the table and said, “Hi.”

Cas was writing something, his concentration sharp and his brows furrowed. He was still listening to music. This time Dean called out the Hi a little louder. Still no response. Unable to decide if Cas was merely ignoring him or was so into his work, he poked his arm and had to step away hurriedly because Cas spasmed right out of his seat with a startled cry and a wild look in his face. So he was not ignoring Dean but was super into his thing. Cas was still staring at him, a grimace on his face and Dean said, “Hi Cas.”

“Hello Dean,” Cas returned, his face setting back into his usual stare and of my god, Cas knew his name, how did he know Dean’s name.

“You know my name?” Dean asked nonplussed.

“I make it a point to learn the names of all of my stalkers, even the ones who think they are being smart,” said Cas with narrowed eyes as if daring Dean to say no. Dean couldn’t say no so he didn’t.

“Well, uh, I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I didn’t mean to,” said Dean with remorse.

“Yeah. Sure,” Cas said. He was staring at Dean unblinkingly, looking at his lips and then his eyes but staring at him. It took Dean some time to realise that there was hardly any space between the two. Mostly because Cas’s face was so close. He suddenly sighted, closed his eyes and leaned back. Then he opened his eyes and asked Dean, “What do you want?”

“Would you like to have coffee with me?” Dean asked slowly.

“Now? Will you leave me alone after that?”

“No, I mean whatever time is fine with you, and yes if you want me to I will stay away from you, I promise,” said Dean while giving him a puppy dog look that he had copied from Sam to extreme affect.

It certainly affected Cas as he chewed on his lipring and said, “Um, let me finish three more pages and then we can have that coffee, sound good to you?”

“Yes, yes, totally. So I will be waiting outside the library then?” asked Dean.

“Uh. You can sit here if you want to. If you don’t mind. I won’t take much time.”

“Oh that’s ok then. I will wait here. You finish your thing,” said Dean politely, while internally he cheered at the chance of looking at Cas from so near. So he settled in his seat and stared unabashedly at Cas while he took up his pen and began to write again. 

Dean was dipping to a wicked song that was coming out from Cas’s headphones when he realised that Cas never even took his headphones off when he was talking with Dean. And Dean had talked very quietly. How the fuck did he even hear over the din he was listening to. Feeling a bit confused, Dean decided to ask Cas about it later. Now that he had the promise of a coffee from Cas, he was looking forward to it with happiness. Time for questions would come later.

 

###########################################################################

 

Cas liked his coffee thick and black, like some sludge dredged from the bottom of a lake. Dean sipped at his latte as he watched Cas pour in seven or so packets of sugar into the coffee. After stirring everything in, Cas started drinking as well, taking obvious enjoyment in the hot beverage. 

“How did you know my name?” Dean asked first.

Cas had been staring at him, headphones out of sight for the time being. He said, “I asked Lucifer some months ago.”

“Months?”

Cas was blushing now. “Yes. Maybe the third day of this sem. He told me your name and offered to off you off in case you got annoying at stalking.”

Dean is gobsmacked. That was a full week before he noticed Cas. Wow. And also the mystery as to why Lucifer looks like he would kill him every time he sees the guy. 

“So, uh, you like music?” asked Dean.

“Yeah. I find it calming,” Cas was blushing for some reason and was looking down at his coffee when Dean asked “Who is your favourite?” Cas didn’t respond. It didn’t look like he was ignoring Dean. So Dean asked again. Cas looked up then and said, “I am sorry, did you say something?”

Dean gave a slight smile at him and said, “Maybe you are listening to music too loud or too much or both. I asked a few times who do you like best.” Dean stopped saying anything more as Cas has suddenly gone rigid. Maybe he was overstepping his bounds again. So he quickly said, “I am sorry, that was rude. I didn’t mean to imply...”

“No, it’s ok. I don’t mind. It’s just that. Well. I am a bit deaf. Like technically. It’s not a matter of volume of sound for me, but the sounds made. I find it hard to follow conversations. So that’s why i always have headphones in my ears. Certainly discourages anyone from trying to have awkward conversations,” Cas said with a look on his face that conveyed that perhaps he was giving too much away.

“You have speech discrimination!?” Dean asks in surprise.

“You know what that is?” Cas is shocked.

“Yeah, I, yeah. My Uncle Bobby has it. So, I know how to, you know, communicate. Huh. No wonder you stare so much. You read lips don’t you.”

“Well, yeah, I have to. And I have to stare otherwise I will miss what is being said,” a hint of exasperation line through Cas’s statement. 

“Have you tried therapy of sign language?”

“I tried therapy for a bit but it just frustrated me. As for sign language, I, well, no one I know knows it so it would defeat the purpose right?” Cas asks forlornly.

To Dean it seems to sound like an oft repeated sentence, either told to him or at him and hence his reluctance to even try it. But it was not his place to tell Cas what to do. Hell, after the coffee is finishes, they may never get to talk again, if Dean is to keep his promise. 

“Still, it won’t hurt to learn. Whether you use it or not. I mean you could talk with me. I learned it for my uncle and he doesn’t talk much as it is but still, it feels good. I could teach you some even, if you want to,” Dean supplied.

Cas pursed his lips at Dean, obviously thinking about the offer. Then he says, “Maybe the next time we get together for coffee?”

Dean gives a big smile then, both at the promise of more coffee and time with Cas and he mouths a big OK at Cas who can’t help but smile at him in return.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas sings to Dean and Dean reads to cas...

Within a short time, Cas and Dean became inseparable, so much so that Charlie started to grumble and Meg was insufferably all full of innuendos, which she took great pleasure in uttering with perfect enunciation and very crass hand gestures. But the boys endured. What was to be done about friends after all. After Charlie met Cas, both became good friends, talking late into the night about comics and movies, Dean piping in. Meg and Lucifer were an entirely different breed. 

Lucifer was a scary dude, Dean was sure that he must have a lot of tattoos or piercings, but save for his earring, he seemed normal enough until one had the misfortune of looking into his eyes. They were icy blue, cold, totally different from Cas’ warm blue that seemed to shift and meld to suit his mood. Meg was snarky and sarcastic. Dean gave back as good and this seemed to amuse the couple to no end. Cas was glad that Dean got along with the only friends he had. 

Over the months, Dean became proficient at Cas speak and his body language as Cas did with Dean’s. They still talked, but their non-verbal communication was reaching, according to Charlie and Sam who came over to visit a few times, epic proportions. Cas still listened to music and walked around with headphones in, but when Dean took the chance to introduce him to some of his friends, Cas found that he did not mind socialising a bit. The titbits he gathered from Dean’s friends made up for the small level of discomfort he had to face. Everyone accepted him as one, albeit a quite one and Cas couldn’t help but be secretly thrilled.

One day, while the pair was lying on Dean’s bed, making out and reading books at the same time, lazily, Dean noticed that one of the headphones was still in Cas’s ears. He pulled it out and listened to the song. It sounded like an orchestra backing a rock band. Dean pulled it out and put it in Cas’s ear. Cas hummed at him, the tone of the song immediately recognisable to Dean. Dean asked him, “What band is that Cas?” Cas replied, “Um, if I remember correctly, Kamelot. Have you heard them before?”

Dean sat up at that, frowning a bit. He said, “I dunno Cas. I might have. I don’t remember.”

“Do you like it?” Cas asked him.

“Yeah I do. Maybe I should check them out,” Dean replied. Cas smiled at him then and pulled him in for a kiss. Dean pulled away from the kiss after a bit and looking into his eyes asked, “Babe, can I ask you something. If you don’t mind?”

“Of course Dean. You can ask me anything. What is it?” Cas asked him seriously, taking out the headphones and keeping them on the bed. 

“Well, I just wanted to know, like, I don’t understand, but you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to and I would totally understand...”

“Just tell me Dean,” Cas smirks at him, stopping Dean from rambling on some more.

“I wanted to ask, I mean, why do you listen to songs with, you know, words in them. I mean aren’t instrumental music or something like that better? Do you understand them? I .. Just. Bobby listens to i don’t know what he listens to, but i remember him saying that he didn’t like songs where people sang cos he could never make out what they were saying and this made him angry. So, I just wanted to know. I mean, again, if you only want to tell me,” Dean asked in a grave voice, forehead in furrows and nose crunched up. 

“Oh.” Cas says. “Well, I guess to each their own. And I get why your uncle would hate songs that are not instrumental, but it’s not like for me. I like the thrum, the cadence of the song when someone sings. It’s just like there is another kind of vibration that slinks under my skin when someone is singing. And while I do listen to instrumental and related genres, I love listening to music where someone is belting it out just a bit more. Great music with that and I am completely sold. Do you get it?”

“Huh. Well, I never thought of that. Guess I should tell Bobby to try out some more music right?”

“Well, that is completely up to him. And while I may not understand at first, I can always download their lyrics and listen. It actually helps me to hear more as know what I am hearing. A kind of subtitle for live speech you know. It is also why I can sing too,” Cas informs Dean shyly.

Dean catches on immediately. He says, “Whoa Cas, you sing. Can you please sing for me? Please?”

“Ha ha ha. Ok ok. No need to beg so much. I will sing for you. What do you want to hear?” Cas asks.

“Can you, can you sing the song I just listened to?” Dean asks with a hopeful look on his face. 

“Mmmmm ok. Ahem. ‘When they met she was fifteen....’”

Five minutes later just as Cas finishes the last line, Dean pounces on him and gives him a resounding kiss. He says a tad breathlessly, “Holy fuck Cas, you are awesome!”

Cas giggles at him and pulls Dean to him and gives him a few of his kisses. He then lays his head on Dean’s chest and tries to nap. That is when Dean starts talking, murmuring, slowly, letting his voice travel his body so that Cas can feel it. He looks up and asks Dean what he is saying. Dean replies, “Oh I am just saying I love you.”

“Yeah?” Cas asks with a big ass smile on his face.

“Yeah.” Dean replies, and pushes Cas’s face to his chest again. He starts speaking again and that is how Cas finds out that he totally loves it when Dean talks to him even when he can’t see his face of make out what he is saying. He tells Dean as much. So Dean takes up reading to Cas, his head cradled on his chest, the book open on his stomach just in case Cas wants to know what Dean is saying, and both blissfully happy in a small cocoon of their love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song mentioned is Love you To Death by Kamelot, off their album, Ghost opera. I came across this song some time ago and is one of my fav. This chapter came to be because of that. Hope you liked reading this. Unbetaed. Leave your comments and kudos guys, tis be the manna for starving writers!

**Author's Note:**

> I have based the experience of Cas on myself, as I too have speech discrimination to a certain degree, so please excuse me if I made any glaring mistake. Just let me know so that i can rectify it. Kudos and comments are most welcome. Thank you for reading.


End file.
